Atomic COBALT : WORST DIVE COMPUTER EVER !

[StefinSB]

My wife really likes her Cobalt 1. Never had an issue with it.

 

[charlier]

I am with Wookie and Stoo on this. Similarly, my wife really liked her Cobalt, but was not pleased with its reliability. After three failures over two years and about 200+ dives, she recently purchased a Shearwater Perdix AI. FYI, Atomic service promptly took care of warranty issues, she decided to purchase a more reliable dive computer.

 

[mdb]

DEMA numbers are a compilation of what listed manufacturers report, so yeah, maybe not spot on. And not all manufacturers report sales to DEMA. So they could be over or under reality, I don't know. But from my experience of working with multiple manufacturers and knowing internal sales figures I don't think they are wildly off- unlike show attendance. And the decline is long standing, for many active sports, not just diving.
I'm quite confident of our Cobalt numbers, since we had to make sure they all got built.

Ron

Ron, you have a lot of dive industry experience and a well earned reputation for integrity.

If you are confident of the Cobalt numbers then so am I.

 

[tony1263]

I had wanted the Atomic Cobalt computer for years but as many, when buying first buying all your equipment (and for two) you sometimes have to start more economical and upgrade later. I was extremely excited when I was finally able to update dive computers for my wife and I to the Atomic's Cobalt 2 computer.

Since our purchase, mine died after the 8th dive with a sensor error. Lucky I was able to switch to a back up computer and continue to dive the rest of the vacation. I am happy to say, Atomic stood behind their product and replaced at no charge to me (other than shipping to them).

I figured I was just one of those small percentages of people that had an issue with a product and it was no negative reflection on the product. Again the company stood behind their product and replaced/repaired.

Now fast forward to today. I was getting our computers ready for a dive next weekend. Figured I would download the last dives to MacDive and charge the battery (batteries were down to about 36% from the last time used). My newly replace/repaired computer did fine. My wife's computer appears to be stuck in a simulation mode or something. I can not get it to do anything other than display a dive simulation. I have tried to hold the enter and back buttons down only to find it resets the simulation mode.

Any ideas as I need this computer by in the next 6 days working....

So sad for what seems like such a great computer. Anything to help restore my positive thoughts for this computer would be helpful. I would hate to tell others it is a beautiful piece of poo. Please help.

 

[jndiver]

I had 4 go bad on me over 3 years. Good luck. Atomic does stand behind their stuff and I love my t3 however i was just tired of sending it back and waiting for a new one. Sold it and bought a sheerwater and it has been perfect. Really wanted the colbolt 2 to work well. Scuba board is a great source of reliability that is not biased.

 

[tony1263]

I also want these to work. One just can't wonder when the computer will go out. At over $1,100 each (and today's lower technology costs) it is quite a shame to hear several have issues. I've heard a few say disconnect the battery and it will reset but others saying the Cobalt 2 battery is sodered vs. a connector. Anyone know for sure? I don't want to open and void my chance of a warranty repair. Thanks!

 

[RonR]

I had wanted the Atomic Cobalt computer for years but as many, when buying first buying all your equipment (and for two) you sometimes have to start more economical and upgrade later. I was extremely excited when I was finally able to update dive computers for my wife and I to the Atomic's Cobalt 2 computer.

Since our purchase, mine died after the 8th dive with a sensor error. Lucky I was able to switch to a back up computer and continue to dive the rest of the vacation. I am happy to say, Atomic stood behind their product and replaced at no charge to me (other than shipping to them).

I figured I was just one of those small percentages of people that had an issue with a product and it was no negative reflection on the product. Again the company stood behind their product and replaced/repaired.

Now fast forward to today. I was getting our computers ready for a dive next weekend. Figured I would download the last dives to MacDive and charge the battery (batteries were down to about 36% from the last time used). My newly replace/repaired computer did fine. My wife's computer appears to be stuck in a simulation mode or something. I can not get it to do anything other than display a dive simulation. I have tried to hold the enter and back buttons down only to find it resets the simulation mode.

Any ideas as I need this computer by in the next 6 days working....

So sad for what seems like such a great computer. Anything to help restore my positive thoughts for this computer would be helpful. I would hate to tell others it is a beautiful piece of poo. Please help.

This sounds as if a button is not working, but can you give more more information? If you know the serial # that helps identify the time of manufacture, and the firmware version is always helpful. Are you able to do anything in the simulator/planner, if that is where you are? If it is reset, the computer will come back to the set time& date screen, so I don't think you are actually resetting the computer. I'm sending you a direct message with my contact info and something to try, if you can send a picture of the screen to me that might help identify if you are in the simulator or some other screen. If it's the button, it's an easy fix.
Ron

 

[RonR]

I also want these to work. One just can't wonder when the computer will go out. At over $1,100 each (and today's lower technology costs) it is quite a shame to hear several have issues. I've heard a few say disconnect the battery and it will reset but others saying the Cobalt 2 battery is sodered vs. a connector. Anyone know for sure? I don't want to open and void my chance of a warranty repair. Thanks!

In response to your question, the Cobalt battery (both 1 and 2) is attached with a small connector and it lives in a compartment isolated from the rest of the electronics, it can easily be unplugged or replaced. That was the only way to reset a Cobalt 1, but the Cobalt 2 has a built in reset function and should not need to have the battery removed. Before you open the battery door, though, check out the message I sent to you and let me know more specifics about what you see.

Ron

 

[tony1263]

Ron,
Your directions on removing the cover allowed me to lift the button assembly and magnets off the unit. I cleaned off the magnets and plastic over the electronics (although all looked really clean). I am happy to report the back button, (that seemed to be the one not responding) worked. I am out of simulation mode and all looks to be functioning fine. I still remain a bit concerned that this happened with the computer only having 32 dives. Bottom line, I am able to use this computer for this weekend's dive which will give it a nice test.

I thank you so much for reaching out,
Tony

 

[RonR]

Ron,
Your directions on removing the cover allowed me to lift the button assembly and magnets off the unit. I cleaned off the magnets and plastic over the electronics (although all looked really clean). I am happy to report the back button, (that seemed to be the one not responding) worked. I am out of simulation mode and all looks to be functioning fine. I still remain a bit concerned that this happened with the computer only having 32 dives. Bottom line, I am able to use this computer for this weekend's dive which will give it a nice test.

I thank you so much for reaching out,
Tony

Thanks, Cobalts manufactured in the last few years have proven quite reliable. There was a bad stretch, due mostly to some bad parts that failed in use. We still deal with that.
It could be that the magnet got stuck in a slightly depressed position due to salt or heat interaction with the silicone. Occasionally I've noticed that you need to pluck up on a button (or get it wet) to unstick the keypad. I'm following up on the status of your magnets through the personal message.

Ron